Over the past year, video marketing has transformed into a mainstream marketing tool, and the stats that are rolling out only seem to encourage this trend. Online video is popping up on all types of platforms, networks and screens, and you don’t even have to base it exclusively on the media giant YouTube. Other streaming platforms such as Netflix and Vine burst onto the scene and Facebook and Instagram quickly responded to update their video capabilities. So what are the video marketing essentials? Here’s what you need to know to stay up-to-date with the current trends.
Agile marketing
Agile marketing will be crucial to adapt to this ever-changing online world. What is this exactly? It implies quickly responding to trends and news events and capitalizing on it. One great example that started things off was Oreo, making the most of a blackout during the mass viewing of the Super Bowl, and quickly coming up with a twist. The photo tweet was hugely popular on Social Media and since then, the well-known cookie company has responded consistently. Here are some great examples of Oreo keeping up with current events and making it relevant to their product. Translate this to video. Marketers should be increasingly flexible to create video content unexpectedly, responding to trends, events and even suggestions from existing users.
Mobile Life
The widespread increase of smartphones in the market powered up the Internet communication scene, as any device with bandwidth became a perfect platform for media outlets and an opportunity for video to gain even more terrain. And the numbers prove it: according to a report by Nielsen, smartphone ownership rose from 19% in 2009 to 65% in 2013. And this article explains that online video viewing is well on the rise. This doesn’t even include tablets! Built-in video players mean that it’s easy to watch multimedia content wherever a viewer may be. Keep up with this, because this trend doesn’t seem like it will slow down any time soon.
Less is more
With the upsurge of mobile, content is also scaling down to adjust to the smaller screen proportions and the shorter attention spans of potential consumers. As many viewers are hyper-connected and look to maximize their time, it’s important to grab their attention quickly and promote swift decision-making. Since people are less appreciative of long-text messages or video presentations, keep your messages short. And don’t forget to include some fun. The key here is to remember that the quality shouldn’t suffer over quantity. Make sure your message is to the point and brings something new to the table. Create the “hook”: 20% of viewers will stop watching a video within the first 10 seconds if they don’t find a reason to care. If they do, viewers will react positively; you may even create some revenue.
Social Media is King – Interactivity is even better
Social Media streams are here to stay, and are quickly adapting to online video. There are over 1 billion active Facebook users, and 25% of them have shared a video onto a social network. The potential of generating something viral is much higher than posting exclusively to your own sites or landing pages. Using videos to advertise your brand or product on Social Media is a great way to jumpstart your campaign. And you can even engage with users and make the most of the interactive nature of online video. This trend is all about building relationships with focus groups or your targeted audience. According to Millward Brown, video campaigns that used the social streams performed better than 88% of standard in-stream campaigns for purchasing strategies. Here at Wideo, we’ve seen the immense power of using social media to share your videos, and you can directly link your video or embed them when you click on the “Share” button on the Wideo Editor.
Keep it Business Casual
Business presentations no longer need to be formal, stiff, or boring. Much like workplace etiquette has become more lax and casual over time, this trend has spilled over to marketing and PR work. Creating a video with audio and images that are more upbeat, entertaining, and engaging is becoming the norm. It is now considered acceptable to present a product or service with an uplifting animation. Not only are these videos more “reachable” to wider audiences by appealing to universal emotions, its content is also more easy to follow. Explainer videos or short, amusing presentations are great ways to introduce your brand in a dynamic way. Here’s another trend: video in your email campaigns. This is quickly catching on: find out more here!
So before you conclude your campaign strategy, think of the ever-increasing possibilities with online video. With these cost-effective trends, they may go far beyond your expectations.